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dual economy — English
An economical system that consists of two equally, or nearly so, important types of economic activity. The economic development of every country will – theoretically – pass through a number of stages. These stages are typified by four distinct types of economic activity, namely: primary activities (farming, fishing, mining and forestry), secondary activities (manufacturing and construction), tertiary activities (back-up services such as administration, retailing, and transport), and quaternary activities (which are high-level technology and information and knowledge services) (see “quaternary activities”). At times more than one of these types of activities might be approximately equally important in a country’s economy. If such a condition exists, the country has a dual economy. It is not a rare condition at all; in fact, most of the developed states (see “development” and “developing countries”) have been in this situation at one time or another. The best-known example is the military-industrial economy of the USA in the 1950s and early 1960s. A dual economic system can last for a long time, but in most cases one type of economic activity will eventually become the most important, with all others being subsidiary. Examples are rife, but currently the most apposite examples are the Western European states. For many decades these states have been manufacturing and industrial economies where transport and retailing were equally important and indispensible for the aforementioned industrial and manufacturing activities. However, quaternary economic activities have now overtaken these economies to such an extent that their manufacturing and industrial sectors have been completely superseded by information technology and knowledge services. Germany is the striking exception where manufacturing is still an extremely important part of the economy. The outcome of this state of affairs is still in the balance. (See “quaternary activities”.)
